Best Hotel Decor: Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental, Austin

The Intercontinental in Austin wins the hotel decor award on account of its sophisticated -- and consistent -- stylings. From the lone star emblazoned on everything from the wallpaper to the carpets, to the cowhide & leather armchairs, everything was extravagantly Texan, but not in a vulgar way. Extra points for the fancy curtain valance over the shower.


First runner-up: Holiday Inn Express, Cortez, CO. Again, I was impressed by how this hotel took a decor theme -- in this case, the American Indian/Southwestern theme -- and maxed it out. Kokopelli (the dancing flute player) and other petroglyph figures appeared everywhere from the room number plates to the bathroom mirror.


Second runner-up: Hampton Inn, Savannah, GA. Kudos to this mid-range hotel chain for such an elegant outpost in the heart of the old South! The spacious breakfast room, with its Louis XIV chairs upholstered in rose and mint, was particularly charming.

Jo's Coffee Shop

Continuing our day of relaxation, we sat for about 30 minutes reading the Sunday Times on a bench by the river (the lake? still unclear on this point). Then we slowly made our way to 2nd Street, where it looked like there were a bunch of cute cafes, restaurants and boutiques.

I of course had to pop in to a boutique called Girl Next Door, where I tried on a super amazing cobalt blue one-shoulder dress by Mason. SO CUTE people, and perfect for some upcoming weddings! Alas, at $375 it was a little out of my price range (especially right now).

Meanwhile Kaii was scoping out the cafe next door, Jo's, for wi fi. Affirmative. We set up shop and whiled away the rest of the afternoon drinking iced coffee/tea and catching up with blogging and e-mailing. It was so relaxing...

Before we knew it, it was time to pick up the car and head to San Antonio.

Day 9: Sunday Brunch at Moonshine

We got up this morning resolving to take it easy today. After putting in time at the gym (first time in two weeks -- oof), we headed to Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill for brunch. Wow, little did we know brunch here means a massive buffet -- yum!

Just a few of the things we had: chicken tenders, chicken fried steak w/ chipotle gravy, mini bagels w/ three kinds of cream cheese, honeyed ham, mashed sweet potatoes, cheese & broccoli rice, scallion and ham fritatta, two kinds of home fries, green chili grits, biscuits, asparagus omelet, deviled eggs, jalapeno sausages, ham/egg/cheese croissant, green eggs, eggs migas (w/ tortilla chips and peppers), King Ranch casserole (apparently a Texas specialty w/ smoked chicken & tortillas), three kinds of muffins, fruit salad, cappuccino bundt cake, M&M pancakes, cinnamon roll, white chocolate bread pudding and cream cheese turnover.

OK, I think I got it all. :)

A Night Out in Austin

OK, so I've heard so many people rave about Austin over the years -- it's so cool! It's so fun! The music! The nightlife! -- that I was sure I was going to get some great recommendations for restaurants and bars to go to. I didn't. Somehow I failed to connect with all my Austin peeps before making it out, so there we were, stuck and completely clueless as to what to do.

I turned to my brother after checking into the hotel and said, "Too bad you're not a heavy drinker." (Which he's not, for those of you who don't know him. He doesn't drink. At all.) To my total surprise, he said he would forgo the teetotaling for a night and sample the scene with me! Shocking and awesome!

We strolled down the main drag, 6th Street, and marveled at all the young'uns all dressed up and raring to go on this balmy Saturday night. (Hey you guys, remember dressing up for a Saturday night out?? I still have backless tops hanging in my closet... my god.)

The bar we picked, The Library, seemed the least fratty -- or maybe it just appealed to the nerd in me. It wasn't so bad. Kaii and I enjoyed our Blue Moons -- $2 each!! gah! -- but overall the scene was a little fratty for me. We walked back to the hotel and asked the nice young kids behind the front desk where to go off 6th Street and if maybe there were some gay bars around (for Kaii).

They pointed us in the direction of the Warehouse District, which kind of felt like the Meatpacking because all the bars/clubs were gigantic and in old warehouses (obviously). Not the "alternative" scene I was imagining, but OK. The gay bar we ended up at was called Rain and was actually a lot of fun. Of course, any time there is a DJ playing anthem-y "gay" music and people start dancing, I have a blast, so I am easy to please that way, but I did like the scene. All ages, gays as well as lesbians, groups of straight girls as well as couples -- there was kind of a big mix of people. We really had a lot of fun! Yay Austin!